$1.2B Morgan Stanley team jumps to Merrill Lynch

A former Merrill Lynch adviser has rejoined the firm with a new team and roughly $1.2 billion in combined client assets, the firm says.

Merrill rehired Andrew Zimmerman along with team members Edward Nabhan, his son Alexander, Megan Cooney and James McIntyre. The group operates from Merrill's Boston Financial Center office, the firm says.

Andrew Zimmerman started his career at Merrill Lynch.

Zimmerman took on his first job in the industry with Merrill in 1990 and left the firm 18 years later to work for Morgan Stanley. While there, Zimmeran held several posts, including managing director, senior portfolio manager, adviser and family wealth director, according to Merrill. He also recruited his future team members.

Chris Bettencourt, appointed to market executive for the Boston Financial Center last month, says the advisers joined the firm to take advantage of Bank of America's credit and banking capabilities.

“As the team did their due diligence in advance of their move, they found that the resources available to them here would elevate their overall client experience," Bettencourt says. "Our advisers have access to a broad array of solutions that include the credit and banking capabilities of Bank of America, the trust capabilities of U.S. Trust and the business owner resources of Bank of America Merrill Lynch."

Prior to working for Morgan, Nabhan held adviser positions with E.F. Hutton and Smith Barney, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. His son joined him at Morgan in 2011, BrokerCheck records show.

Cooney also is returning to Merrill after he too left the wirehouse for Morgan Stanley in 2008, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records. McIntyre, who began working in the industry with Morgan in 2010, is making his first career move.

Merrill, which employs 14,412 advisers managing nearly $2 trillion in total client assets, recently lost an adviser overseeing $315 million to HighTower, according to the firm.